As a small business owner, I understand that hiring and retaining the right staff for your business can be a hassle. Are employees going to be full-time, part time or casual? You need to know whether there is an award that applies to your industry or whether you need to have an enterprise agreement in place instead. The wages and entitlements you are offering to employees need to be in accordance with the applicable award or enterprise agreement. Then you have to advertise, interview and find the right employee for the role.

It can be very time consuming and frustrating. I am sure there are many other business owners that, like me, receive job applications by people who have no intention of attending the interview or really don’t actually want the role being offered but need to satisfy job seeking criteria for their Centrelink payment. It can be quite tempting to just hire someone “off the books” or as a subcontractor on a verbal agreement only and pay them cash to avoid all the hassles and paperwork. Unfortunately, as a solicitor I can tell you that this type of employment arrangement never ends well.

The hiring process is a good opportunity to prepare a job description setting out exactly what the role entails and to consider the necessary licensing and other qualifications needed for the position. The Fair Work Ombudsman website has some great resources on the hiring process as well as information on awards and employment entitlements. If you include the job description in your employment contract, then both you and your employee know what your expectations are.

When you do find the right person to fill a role in your business, it’s worth getting some legal advice to get the employment or subcontractor agreement right. There have been changes to the definition of casual employment, independent contractor, and unfair contract terms in recent months. Employees will also now have the right to disconnect outside of work hours from 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers and from 26 August 2025 for small business employers. While there are many generic employment contracts you might be able to access via the internet, they may not cover issues like these adequately. You should also consider whether there are specific considerations for your business that should be included as part of the contract such as a social media policy, a confidentiality clause, a non-compete clause and clauses dealing with return of things like work phones or vehicles.

Finally, don’t forget to add the new employee to your workers’ compensation policy. If an employee is injured in the workplace, this will allow them to have access to payments for lost wages and medical expenses as soon as liability is accepted by the insurer and you will not need to source the funds for those expenses yourself.

While it might be a bit of a hassle doing things the right way, it can avoid a much bigger legal hassle later!
KC Hilton, WNB Legal